


Empheral

by Cymbre



Category: Mushishi, Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Gen, I just want them to be friends and go on adventures, Natsume Yuujinchou/Mushishi crossover, Other, Time Travel, same age!Natsume&Ginko
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-06-09 17:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15272748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cymbre/pseuds/Cymbre
Summary: Natsume can see demons and spirits that hide from the rest of humanity. Ginko is a Mushi Master who can see and attract mushi, supernatural lifeforms more primitive than "normal" living things. Both living their life as best as they can while coming to terms with the strange worlds they occupy.  This is the story of how their different worlds collide and the bond that forms from it.





	1. Doppelgänger

**Author's Note:**

> In this crossover Natsume and Ginko are around the same age, with Ginko being a year or so older. 
> 
> I also decided to go with Natsume's appearance from the manga instead of the anime for the sake of shenanigans.

“Where are you, Reiko?!”

The voice rang across the forest as Natsume Takashi hid in a bush to catch his breath. He stilled as a rather large yokai trampled by, eyes searching for the human.

“Where? Where?” Natsume held his breath as the voice moved farther away from his position. He sat there, heart beating in his ears until he couldn’t hear the creature. He crawled out of his hiding spot, running in the opposite direction of the yokai. This part of the forest was almost unfamiliar to him. If he could find a way to the road Natsume could make his way home without possibly encountering the yokai again. Just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw a break in the trees with a large opening in the underbrush to his left. Without a second thought, Natsume leapt from the bushes-

-and barreled right into someone. There was nothing Natsume could do as they both went down hard, arms scraping against pavement and bags scattering. The sudden impact disoriented him, distracting from the pain in his arm. Time seemed to crawl as he lay there, trying to sort out what he had done and how he was going to explain his way out of it.

“If you’re done,” a pained voice started from below him, “I’d appreciate you moving off me.”

Sputtering, Natsume righted himself, hoping to help the person he had run into. 

“Sorry! Are you alri-” Natsume was taken aback as he stared at himself. At least, what he thought was himself. Upon a closer look, Natsume noticed the subtle differences. The green eye staring back at him seemed surprised and slightly curious, white hair covering the left side of his face, hiding his other eye from Natsume’s view. His face seemed tired somehow, despite them looking about the same age. The boy hesitated a moment before he gripped Natsume’s outstretched hand, pulling himself up as Natsume continued to stare. He was a bit thin and taller but not by much. He pulled his hand from Natsume’s grasp, flexing his fingers before rubbing the back of his neck. Something about the movement pulled Natsume from the shock of this….whatever this was. Natsume repeated his previous question.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah.” The boy looked himself over. Natsume noted the torn fabric around the boy’s elbow and the dirt staining his pants. Otherwise, he looked no worse for wear. “Nothing too bad. Can’t say the same for my shirt.” 

Natsume laughed, a little relieved. It didn’t seem as if he was angry. Explaining to a stranger you ran him over to escape a demon wasn’t exactly ideal. Especially since for most people, demons and the like didn’t exist. And while this situation wasn’t great, it was better than the alternative. He could live with a little embarrassment. Natsume reached for his bag, noticing his books on the ground along with some other things he couldn’t identify. “Sorry about your bag.”

At the mention of his bag, the boy’s eye went wide. Swearing under his breath, he rushed to his bag, checking the inside while fanning his hand over the opening as if it smelled foul.  
Natsume caught wisps of…..something rising from the bag. Trials of smoke dancing in the air around the bag and spilled contents littering the ground. The guilt ate at Natsume. Had he been more aware of his surroundings he would have noticed the yokai lurking nearby and completely avoided it. He could be home by now and this stranger wouldn’t have to worry about his possessions being damaged. Natsume crouched down, looking at the jars, papers and other strange, miscellaneous things that had spilled out during their collision.

“Here. I’ll help.” It was the least he could do. He glanced around the ground, deciding on a box in front of him first, the corner dented from the fall. 

“Not that!”

Natsume froze, hand hovering over the wooden box as he stared at the boy’s terrified expression. The silence sat between them. 

“It’s...fragile. Sorry.”

Instead of questioning the boy’s outburst, Natsume pulled his hand back. “It’s alright. If there’s anything I can help with-” Natsume didn’t want to accidentally ruin someone else’s things.

The look-alike stared again, making Natsume shift uneasily. It reminded Natsume of the creeping feeling he got along his skin when he sensed a yokai nearby. Finally, he pointed at a piece of paper lying on the ground between them. “If you wouldn’t mind picking up my notes, I’d appreciate the help.”

Natsume nodded and went to work picking up the scattered pages snagged on hedges and littering the path, untangling string as he went. The eyes on Natsume were a bit unnerving and he knew if he were to look to his temporary companion, he’d see the boy staring. He couldn’t really blame him. Natsume wasn’t sure what to make of their situation so he kept quiet, thinking of any possible explanation. Was the stranger actually a human? Or perhaps a yokai himself? The pages were strange enough, covered in squiggly drawings and notes. Maybe he was waiting for Natsume to make the first move. But wouldn’t he have attacked already while his back was turned. The watchful feeling left and Natsume sighed. The quicker he wrapped this up, the sooner they both could be on their way. 

Certain he had collected all the papers in sight, Natsume stood and walked back to the stranger, who had finished retrieving most of the stray items from his bag. In the time Natsume had gathered the pages, the boy had lit a cigarette, puffing a stream of smoke through his nose as he crouched in front of the bush Natsume had tumbled from. He turned his attention to Natsume as he approached, placing the cigarette in his mouth to free his hand to accept the papers. Natsume caught the earthy scent as he bent in front of the boy, careful not to spill the pages a second time. 

“I think I gathered up all the pages. Although, I wouldn’t know if any where missing…”

He flipped through the pages, nodding approvingly as he placed them in his bag along with the tangled string Natsume gave to him. There were a few other oddities in the bag that Natsume was curious about. But he was more curious about the stranger.

Before he could ask any questions, the other boy stood, bag closed and on his shoulder. “I believe that’s everything. Sorting through this tonight will be fun.” 

Natsume stood and bowed slightly. “I’m sorry. I’ll be careful next time.”

The stranger threw a wave over his shoulder as he walked past Natsume, giving him a wide berth as he continued down the road. “Just don’t make running into people a habit.”

Natsume felt the heat creep onto his face as the boy went on his way without a second glance. It wasn’t until he was halfway home that Natsume noticed the presence of the yokai had vanished too.

***

Natsume was sitting in his room drying his hair. The bath had washed the fatigue of the day away but his mind kept playing his encounter with the stranger over. Something was off about the whole thing. How had they looked alike? A doppleganger? Could it have been a yokai disguised as a human? Natsume knew some were capable of taking human form. Nyanko-sensei had appeared as his grandmother more than once. Speaking of which...

“Sensei.” 

Natsume looked over at what would have been a bizarre scene to any normal person. Sitting a pillow, flipping through the day’s paper, was a large and mismatched colored cat. His orange and grey fur was covered by a towel. Glasses, that Natsume often wondered the origins of, sat on a round face as the yokai turned his attention to the human.

“There are yokai that can copy the appearance of humans, right? Have you seen or heard anything like that happening recently?”

The cat hummed to himself, turning another page. “There are many yokai who will take on the form of humans for many reasons. It’s trickier for low ranks but possible.”

“But I haven’t heard of such a yokai in the area,” Sensei stated before Natsume could ask his next question. “The scent wasn’t that of a yokai. It was probably just a human.”

Natsume continued with his homework, stretching his arm and readjusting the bandage covering it. Could it have been a coincidence? The thought stuck with him even as he settled in for the night, staring out his window as he dozed off. 

***

_He saw the fire ahead of him, the flames casting a soft glow against the silhouette sitting among the shadows. Natsume walked, the warmth seeping into his bones as he drew closer. The figure looked up, green eyes searching around as if it had heard something. A voice spoke out into the dark._

_“So you’re here too.”_


	2. Doppelgänger II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Natsume runs into trouble, as he does.

Natsume tried his best to forget the events of the previous day but that didn’t stop Natsume from returning to the spot of his encounter, much to Sensei’s disdain. And he made his complaints vocal the entire walk there after Natsume revealed his intention.

“This is a waste of time, Natsume,” the cat stated as they drew closer, “It was probably just a human passing by.”

“Yea,” Natsume replied absently. Nothing seemed out of the place but many of the yokai he’d spoken with had expressed their fear of an evil yokai lurking around the area, most likely the one he ran from yesterday. He hoped the stranger hadn’t run into the yokai after they departed. Maybe he could find out more about the yokai from The Dog’s Circle. Natsume turned to leave and caught sight of something snagged on a branch. He reached a hand out, plucking the paper free. It was similar to the pages Natsume had gather yesterday.

Nyanko-sensei hopped onto his shoulder, leaning forward for a closer look.

“What’s this? It looks like a bunch of squiggles.”

“This was one of the pages I had to gather.” A thought crossed his mind and he brought the paper closer to the yokai’s face. “Do you think you could track his scent?”

“Do you think I’m a dog?! Besides, whatever scent was here is masked by a different smell.”

Natsume sighed, looking the paper over again.

“Maybe he’s some kind of artist,” Natsume reasoned as Nyanko-sensei left his perch. “I’m going to look around a bit longer.”

There was a huff from the yokai but said nothing more, choosing to settle down under the shade of a tree while Natsume searched the area. Nyanko-sensei eventually went off in search of sake or some other form of entertainment. Natsume didn’t think too much on it. He was used to his “bodyguard” wandering off. Thirty minutes later and a third pass through the path yielded no results. Natsume tightened the pack around his waist, checking the bag for the Book of Friends he carried with him as he stored the page alongside it. 

“Let's go, Sensei.” 

But Natsume was alone, save for the rustling coming from the bush Nyanko-Sensei had went through. He moved closer to the small opening.

“Sensei?”

Something cold grasped his leg, dragging Natsume to the ground. Large eyes glared at him. “You can’t keep the Book of Friends from me, Reiko.” It tightened its grip on Natsume’s leg, a burning sensation spreading along his skin. “His name! Give it to me!”

Natsume grit his teeth and pulled back his free leg, kicking the closet part of yokai he could reach. It howled in pain as Natsume’s foot connected with its eye, releasing his leg. Natsume scrambled backwards, gaining his footing and heading into the bushes again. He crept through the forest as fast as he could, keeping an eye out for the yokai and his bodyguard. 

Sticking around here without Nyanko-Sensei had been a stupid mistake. A tug on the back of his shirt startled Natsume, a hand clamped over his mouth before he could scream. Natsume broke away from the hold on him, fist ready as he rounded on the would-be attacker. Recognition crossed Natsume’s face. “It’s you.” The boy put a finger to his lips, motioning for Natsume to follow as they both navigated the underbrush as quietly as they could. 

“Why are you here again?”

The boy snorted ahead of him,“I could ask you the same thing.” 

They emerged back onto the road a short distance away.

“How’s your leg,” the boy asked, brushing dirt off his hand. Out of immediate danger, the pain in Natsume’s leg was more noticeable. He pulled up his pants as far as he could. There was a black mark on his leg, like a large bruise, the ooze clinging to his skin and clothing. He wince at the sight. In Natsume’s experience, strange marks acquired from from angry yokai tend to be a bad thing.

The boy crouched near Natsume, mouth in a thin, thoughtful line as he cautiously touched the affected skin. He drew his hand away, fingers stained from the damp spot on Natsume’s leg. The boy rubbed the black mess between his fingers much to Natsume's horror, his face one of concentration. He needed to do something before the yokai caught up to them.

"Listen-"

Natsume barely had the words thought out when the boy nodded as if he had come to a conclusion.

"Okay."

The boy moved his bag to his other shoulder before picking up Natsume's own. 

"Can you stand?"

"It stings a little but I'm fine." It wasn't anything he couldn't handle. "You need to go."

"Not until I've treated your leg. You seem to be losing quite a bit of fluid."

That meant he could see the mark. Did that mean he could see yokai as well? A loud crash sounded in the forest they just escaped. The boys turned in time to see a tree topple, birds crying as they fled to the sky. The stranger let out a low whistle before placing the cigarette back in his mouth.

“Maybe we should move a bit farther away.” 

His calm attitude failed to match his hurried actions as he tossed Natsume's arm over his free shoulder. The sudden movement surprised Natsume, causing the pain in his leg to intensify as he stumbled slightly. Natsume began to protest but another falling tree, this one closer to their current location, made the choice obvious for them. Natsume did his best not to overburden them as they left.

They walked along in silence with the occasional look over their shoulder to see if anything decided to follow. Certain the danger had passed for the moment, they both agreed to stop at a nearby gazebo. It was located off the path among a small gathering of trees, meant to take in the forest view most likely. Natsume was lowered onto the worn wood of the bench, taking the weight off his leg. The boy sat their bags on the bench, rummaging through his bag and pulling out the occasional item until he was satisfied with his finds. Most of it was ordinary: a roll of gauze, tape, a few disposable napkins. Others were...questionable. Tiny folded packets and old painting brushes. There were a few unlabeled jars, mostly filled with black liquid. He measured them out onto a small, thin dish, mixing them together as he sprinkled a strange powder into the mixture. The boy looked at him, still mixing.

"Roll up your pant leg."

Natsume hesitated before he pulled the fabric up to reveal the mark again. There was a slight stinging pain when the cloth rubbed against it. 

Bristles coated in the cacotion, he covered the mark in long, thick strokes until it was no longer visible. He placed the small jar in Natsume's hand. 

"Use this again when you get home. Just to be on the safe side. Make sure you wipe away any residue beforehand. The mark doesn’t look too bad so the application should do for now."

Natsume stared at the jar then back at his companion, who had started measuring out a gray powder into a tiny packet. “Who are you?”

There was a pause, then one last drag of his cigarette before grounding the rest into the ground. “I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you’re human.”

“Natsume. Natsume Takashi.”

“I’m Ginko.”

“Ginko,” Natsume parroted, waiting for the rest of the introduction.

The boy smile, unraveling gauze as he began to wrap Natsume’s calf. “Just Ginko. And you never answered my question.”

“Sorry but definitely human.”

It was then that Natsume noticed the same mark trailing up the boy’s- no, Ginko’s arm. It was darker than the one being treated on Natsume’s leg.

“That’s how you knew, isn’t it?” Ginko paused his task to glance at his arm. He tied off the bandage, placing the roll on his bag before rolling up the rest of his sleeve. His entire forearm was covered by the mark. “It grabbed you.”

Ginko shrugged, rolling the sleeve down again. “It’s my own fault. I came back because a few of my notes were missing. I had my back to the forest when it got the jump on me. I managed to get away but it left this unpleasant gift for me it seems.” He flexed his fingers and Natsume wondered if Ginko was feeling the same pain he felt in his leg. 

“I was testing out a few possible ointments to get rid of it when I saw you pass by.”

So in the end, it _had_ been Natsume’s fault. No matter how indirect his influence had been.

“We’ll figure it out. I know someone who might be able to help,” Natsume thought aloud. Hinoe might know something about the mark and could advise them on ways to remove it or to deal with the yokai. Ginko chose to light another cigarette while Natsume spoke.

“Well, if your friend can help us out then maybe we can get this solved sooner than expected.” Ginko slung his bag onto his shoulder, wincing slightly. He caught the worry look on Natsume’s face. “It’s not as bad as I make it seem.”

“You shouldn’t push yourself if it hurts. I dragged you into this anyhow.” 

“The ointment helps for now. But I’ll feel better once this is off. It seems like the universe was determined to bring us together.” 

Natsume looked back at the forest, silent and waiting. He didn’t know if it was the universe or a stroke of misfortune but Natsume felt some truth to Ginko’s words. He’d had too many encounters to believe otherwise. There was comfort in knowing that even when those encounters started bad, he always had the choice to change that for the better. 

“We should meet somewhere close by.” Ginko glanced around their area before motioning to the gazebo. “This would be a fairly good spot. Around the same time should work.”

Ginko picked up both of their bags, holding Natsume’s out to him. Natsume took it, nodding in agreement at Ginko’s suggestion.

“Thank you for helping me, Ginko. Again.”

“Let’s thank each other after this is over,” he said simply, already walking off. Natsume took a few minutes to place the jar and paper packets in his bag, looking off in the direction Ginko had went. The road was empty except for himself. It occurred to Natsume a short time later as he walked home that maybe exchanging contact information would have made life easier.

Natsume entered his home, sliding the door close behind him as he called out his arrival. Moments later, Touko-san stepped out the kitchen to welcome him home. He had hoped to make it up the stairs without her noticing the state of his clothing but the older woman took in Natsume’s disheveled look and started asking him questions. It took Natsume a moment to convince her he was fine. A small tumble on his way home. Natsume managed to make it to his room with minimal fussing from Touko-san. He discard his pants into the laundry basket at Touko-san request but not before attempting to scrubbed the stain out of the fabric. Certain of his work, Natsume went about covering the mark again with the cocotion Ginko made earlier. The pain had mostly dulled to a small throbbing in his leg. He looked out at the darkening sky. _I wondered where Nyanko-sensei wandered off to?_

It would be easier to get ahold of Hinoe with Sensei around. She hadn’t been at Yatsuhara when Natsume swung by on his way home. None of the members of the Dog’s Circle had been there, which was a slight problem for Natsume. 

“Takashi-kun! Dinner’s ready!”

“Coming!” Natsume stood, careful not to put weight on his leg. Whatever was in the jar Ginko gave him seem to be working but he wasn’t sure how the mark would affect him. The sooner he tracked down Hinoe, the better. Natsume made his way downstairs, debating the best way to go about his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is....is this a chapter? It is!
> 
> For clarity, each chapter will be broken up into parts (since I'm terrible at longer chapters) so Doppelgänger will either wrap up sometime after February (when I'm out of retail holiday hell) in one or two parts at most.
> 
> I also did some outlining and can't wait to write adventures for the boys!
> 
> Thanks for sticking around!

**Author's Note:**

> You've reach the end! 
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter. I often struggle with openings but if I don't write them I can't get to the rest of the story so here we are.
> 
> I'm pretty new to the fanfic writing thing (this will be my second wow) but I hope you enjoyed the chapter, as short as it is, and stick around for the rest of the adventures bound to happen :D


End file.
